Journal of Social Work Values & Ethics

Congress, E.P, Black, P.N., & Strom-Gottfried, K. (2009) Teaching Social Work Values and Ethics: A Curriculum Resource. 2^nd ed. Alexandria, Va: CSWE. www.CSWE.org 

Reviewed by Peggy Pittman-Munke, Ph.D.
Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky 

The authors bring impressive credentials to the design of this collection. Elaine P. Congress is professor and associate dean at Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. Her many publications have focused on international comparative ethics, confidentiality, ethical issues in social work education, cultural competency, and social work with immigrants and refugees. She is the North American representative to the International Federation of Social Workers International Ethics Committee. Phyllis N. Black is professor of Social Work at Marywood University and director of the Lehigh Valley Campus Program. She has conducted research on ethical issues in social work practice and serves on the ethics committees of several medical institutions. Kim Strom-Gottfried is Smith B. Theimann Jr. Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Professional Practice in the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. She has published a number of books on ethics in various areas of social work education and practice and has initiated research to test the applicability of decision-making models to the practice environment. 

The editors designed the second edition of this curriculum resource guide to help social work educators develop and supplement course materials on social work values and ethics, in part in response to the 2008 EPAS, which encourages social work educators to infuse content on these topics throughout the social work curriculum. The first section of the book includes syllabi and reading lists for both BSW and MSW courses. Also included is a section on the theoretical foundation and approach to ethics, as well as the learning goals. The second section presents modules that include social work ethics and values content that are part of required or elective BSW or MSW courses. The third section includes exercises and assignments that may be especially useful in teaching social work students about ethics. The fourth and final section is equally useful. It contains annotated bibliographies, videos, and Web sites. Each type of resource is further divided into subcategories, including administration and supervision, aging, child welfare, group work/family work, health and mental health, international, professional issues, research, and rural social work. Many of the references are annotated.

This book’s course outlines, interactive learning techniques, technological resources, and extensive bibliography can be used in nearly any social work course. Its bibliography also features specialty areas new to social work ethics, such as international and multicultural social work. There is also material on  rural social work ethics and values. Resources presented include potential ethical dilemmas concerning practice, law, philosophy, research, conflict resolution, policy advocacy, and work/life balance. Experiential learning opportunities presented in exercises allow students to witness important ethical concepts first-hand,  hopefully leaving a lasting impression that will be carried over as they enter professional life. Regardless of specialization, this book applies to all fields of practice—particularly child welfare, gerontology, health care, and school social work. 

This curriculum resource is useful on both the BSW and the MSW levels. Exercises and assignments can be modified to suit both levels of education. Resources are included that would be useful in teaching ethics and values on the macro level of practice. This is an area of practice that often has a dearth of ideas related to ethics and values presented. There are also several modules that would be useful for someone teaching policy and also could be used in teaching macro practice. A module on teaching research ethics that transcends the IRB approach to ethics is presented. Legal issues, along with values and ethics issues, are showcased in some modules. 

I would also encourage practitioners to acquire this resource, because readers can easily access further information to deepen and enrich their knowledge in ethics and values. Practitioners can gain a great deal from the case scenarios, the values inventories, material related to multiculturalism, and from the included material on professional boundaries. In fact, these may serve to facilitate discussion in supervision and in worker education. Many of the questions raised in the modules will take on new meaning when discussed by practitioners who deal with these issues in everyday practice. Students often only scratch the surface of the Code of Ethics and without more work on ethics and values as practitioners, the understanding of these issues remains at a superficial level. For experienced practitioners, the use of some of the resources in this book may raise their practice to a higher level of ethical practice.

This is a resource that will be useful to educators who are attempting to keep up with an ever more complex ethical world, to students who are working to develop a professional ethical sense that will transcend personal values, and to practitioners who will find this resource both a refresher and a source for enriched practice, as well as a tool for supervision and for peer consultation. I think this resource belongs in every professional library.